Data Protection In The Face Of A Storm

Living in a modern world like ours has a lot of perks, indeed. Life at home is a breeze with numerous appliances and devices that do things for us making sure our hands remain clean and dry all along and get things done almost all the time. We travel so much faster and more conveniently too now that there are all sorts of private and public transportation vehicles to take us from point A to point B with ease. However, life today also has its downsides. Modern living isn’t always as glamorous as we want to believe it to be especially once our shiny gadgets break down and leave us hanging.

Like any object that goes through normal wear and tear, modern contrivances can easily go haywire if not taken cared of properly or exposed to the harsh elements like hurricanes, tornadoes, or other natural disasters. And because most things have gone digital now, it is imperative to ensure your data stays safe all the time or risk losing it forever. Almost all of us use tech gadgets now but are you really well-versed on what to do in the face of calamities that not only threatens your devices but your life as well. Times like this you’d often think about your safety and well-being first rather than secure whatever you leave behind especially in the case of a severe flooding. If you live somewhere frequented by typhoons and is at high-risk for flooding or that sort, arm yourself with the knowledge you need to protect your data by preparing for these disasters way ahead of time.

When disasters strike, people turn first to government for assistance. And government agencies turn to their IT departments – even when a hurricane barrels through.

With the departmental staff relying on the IT department, managers should be honest and transparent with end users, letting them know how to prepare prior to a storm, how to protect devices, the likelihood of downtime and how to work from backups.

Specifically, offices should install surge protectors between the power source and the computers’ power cable to handle any power spikes or surges caused by lightning strikes. They should also invest in some form of uninterruptible power supply, which uses batteries to keep computers running during power outages. UPS systems also help manage an orderly shutdown of the computer — unexpected shutdowns from power surge problems can cause data loss.

Take precautions in your daily life and set long-term safety checks for your data before you might regret not doing so. If your home indeed gets submerged in floodwater, there is nothing you can do about it but it is still possible for you to salvage as much data as you can by keeping in mind some of the tips mentioned in the article like plugging in, drying, and using computers or hard drives that have been obviously damaged by water. Contact a computer repair expert as soon as you can for the best possible solutions to your dilemma before doing anything on your own that may backfire on you in an instant.

Devise a disaster recovery plan.

Frequently, disaster recovery is relegated to the bottom of a small business’ priority list – especially among businesses that aren’t in traditionally high-risk weather areas. But the reality is that no organization is immune to a disaster, regardless of its location. For all businesses, the path to preparedness begins with a plan – one that’s formalized across the company with the comprehensive steps required to quickly restore business functionality in the wake of a disaster.

Communicate your plan to all employees.

A disaster recovery plan can only be effective if everyone is on the same page about what it involves. Once small business leaders establish a plan, they must make sure their employees know what’s in it and what responsibilities each staff member has. That means posting or distributing a print version of the plan as well as discussing it at companywide meetings.

Create and store data backups.

By ensuring all your business’ proprietary data is securely backed up – either virtually or on a physical backup drive stored at a safe location – you can prevent a natural disaster turning into a data loss incident.

Protecting data is especially important for small and medium-sized businesses who have a lot to lose when their data disappears especially that they do not usually have the means to finance data recovery services after as their business continues to suffer long after the disaster has come and gone. Hence, their business will soon lead to bankruptcy and it is a reality for 60{8ac3549fb49be0abeb04696ede088af475fe40f0b5f5fcd57daf076bbc166935} of entrepreneurs of these industries according to statistics. Big brands may suffer as well but they often can bounce back from these unfortunate incidents since they have money to fund their recovery efforts.

Entrepreneurs should take data protection seriously because their business is nothing without the data that makes it work. Disaster preparedness is the key and you no longer have to worry about data recovery with the countless tools you can use to save your business (and source of income) safe from the elements all year round.